tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85584902973048307662018-03-07T15:34:03.895-08:00Skipton and Ripon Labour Party"We are a democratic socialist party"Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-87865206702772843992009-05-31T05:07:00.000-07:002009-05-31T05:14:46.940-07:00Vote to stop the BNPToday I had two more BNP leaflets through my letter-box. I think that makes 8 in total. They are clearly targetting Skipton in the hope to maximise votes for the European elections. Contrast the 8 BNP leaflets with an average of two from the other parties (one local, one European) and in fact no Liberal Democrat or UKIP at all yet.<br /><br />I was pleased to see the editor of the Craven Herald in his editorial this week echoing points I made in a <a href="http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/letters_readers/4382849.Readers__Letters/">letter to the paper </a>the previous week (scroll down to 'fascism threat').<br /><br />Let's not forget <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/31/bnp-european-elections-facebook-expose">what the BNP are actually all about</a>.Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-79632958870512380952009-05-18T09:51:00.000-07:002009-05-18T09:57:43.087-07:00North Yorkshire County Council Elections June 4th 2009<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/ShGSc7Y8m9I/AAAAAAAAATE/5j6fybX9x64/s1600-h/bus+station.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337208059087068114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/ShGSc7Y8m9I/AAAAAAAAATE/5j6fybX9x64/s320/bus+station.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><p>This June we are contesting all seven seats in the Craven area in the North Yorkshire County Council elections.</p><p>Your Labour candidates are:</p><p>James Austin - Ribblesdale</p><p>Robert Battison - South Craven</p><p>James Black - Mid Craven</p><p> </p><p>Christine Brackley - North Craven</p><p>Graeme Hitchen - Airedale</p><p>Peter Madeley - Skipton West</p><p>Duncan Hall - Skipton East</p><p>Please pose questions to any of our candidates in the comments section below and we will endeavour to answer you as soon as possible.</p><p>This year we are standing on:</p><p>· Protecting our environment<br />· Improving public transport and road safety<br />· Excellent education for all and fair access<br />· Commitment to recycling<br />· Sound finances and responsible local government</p><p>We urge <strong>everybody</strong> to vote in the County Council and European elections. A low turnout helps the fascist BNP.</p><p> </p><p> </p>Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-11695972335312606222008-05-02T09:19:00.000-07:002008-05-02T09:24:15.237-07:00Election results and analysisWell - obviously it's a been a bad day for Labour nationally. What about in Craven District? Well the headline won't sound good - we came last in every ward we contested. But it was definitely a worthwhile exercise. We have shown that Labour is back in Craven, and we gave Labour voters somebody to vote for. 843 of them across the five wards, indeed.<br /><br />206 of those voters were in Cowling, where Paul Routledge got a very respectable 30% of the vote. Ted Saunders in Settle and Bob Holland in Aire Valley and Lothersdale got solid votes of 178 and 177 respectively. Surprisingly fewer people voted Labour in Skipton itself, although this was largely down to turnout. Chris Rose secured 10% of the vote in Skipton East, and Duncan Hall got 21% of the vote in Skipton South (this was only 163 votes because the turnout was a very disappointing 27%).<br /><br />There's a lot for us to think about. Obviously national trends played a big part in the results. But we will also take account of what voters have been telling us over the last few weeks, and we will be back next time, stronger, and I predict we'll take a couple of wards.Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-33697976676067886432008-04-25T09:38:00.000-07:002008-04-25T09:41:30.283-07:00Online Local Policy Forum Part Three: EDUCATION<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBIJmQSyyWI/AAAAAAAAAKc/TQTVQrB6lcs/s1600-h/education.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193223873125075298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBIJmQSyyWI/AAAAAAAAAKc/TQTVQrB6lcs/s320/education.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>EDUCATION<br />The current system of admissions to Grammar Schools in Skipton is unfair.We know of anxious parents buying private tuition for 7-yr-olds, to gain admission. We suggest North Yorkshire County Council consults with the public urgently about this unfair system and how to improve it.</div>Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-29999661357373707522008-04-25T09:32:00.000-07:002008-04-25T09:37:51.908-07:00Online Local Policy Forum Part Two: PUBLIC TRANSPORT<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBII1ASyyVI/AAAAAAAAAKU/L0mkXB4I-vQ/s1600-h/dales+bus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193223027016517970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBII1ASyyVI/AAAAAAAAAKU/L0mkXB4I-vQ/s320/dales+bus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>PUBLIC TRANSPORT:<br /><br />The Labour Government has modernised the rail system after decades of Tory neglect and introduced free bus fares for pensioners. Now we want North Yorkshire County Council (under Tory control) to subsidise rail fares so that Craven commuters pay lower fares to Keighley, Leeds &amp; Bradford- as are available now in West Yorkshire.<br /><br /></div><div>This would reduce pollution, save money for passengers,help tourism and reduce road traffic.</div>Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-33925571614827514862008-04-25T09:22:00.001-07:002008-04-25T10:48:37.144-07:00Online Local Policy Forum Part One: POVERTY<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBIHfASyySI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/5XI_MSo6NEg/s1600-h/low+pay+no+way.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193221549547768098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/SBIHfASyySI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/5XI_MSo6NEg/s320/low+pay+no+way.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>CRAVEN IS A POOR AREA OF BRITAIN:-<br />Despite unemployment being low, "Income Levels are substantially below the national average".<br />(Craven Council's own planning document of Nov. 2007)<br />Many staff in retail and distribution,hotels and restaurants,agriculture, call centres, and construction are poorly paid. Few of our skilled young people stay here for work.The Council has shown no interest in addressing this situation.<br />In the age-groups 20-40 Craven has a far lower proportion of population than national average. Employers say there are recruitment problems because of high price of housing.Labour Government has compelled Craven to start Rented Housing. But this Council still wants to keep landowners happy.<br /></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br />LABOUR WOULD act in 2 ways.<br />a)We would provide MORE HOUSES TO LET at reasonable rents from Housing Associations. This would encourage highly qualified young people to come, in turn attracting more High-Tech. employers into the area.<br />b) We would change current planning policies, to encourage more skilled employment</div><div></div><div>PLEASE COMMENT/ASK QUESTIONS</div>Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558490297304830766.post-33963949432450595142008-03-22T06:26:00.000-07:002008-03-28T11:23:39.408-07:00Five Go Electioneering<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/R-03oiG3AgI/AAAAAAAAAGI/V4HDhxZCW2g/s1600-h/vote+labour.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182859915663180290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_chZ-gcj_75I/R-03oiG3AgI/AAAAAAAAAGI/V4HDhxZCW2g/s320/vote+labour.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Skipton and Ripon's very own Famous Five are contesting wards in the Craven District Council on 1 May.<br /><br />Ted Saunders is contesting Settle and Ribblebanks<br />Duncan Hall is contesting Skipton South<br />Chris Rose is contesting Skipton East<br />Paul Routledge is contesting Cowling<br />Robert Holland is contesting Aire Valley and Lothersdale<br /><br />If you live in one of these areas and would like to get in touch with your Labour Party candidate, raise a local issue or ask a question, please use the 'comment' facility below.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Duncan Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16787646693693466048noreply@blogger.com0